Alan Arkin Is The First To Join Ben Affleck's Argo

Ben Affleck, who continues to make his effort toward being the new Clint Eastwood by directing better movies than he ever acted in, has started setting up the cast for the next movie you'll surprise yourself by loving. According to Variety he's brought on none other than Alan Arkin to star in Argo, a drama about the secret C.I.A. mission to rescue the six Americans held hostage in Iran in 1979. The crisis defined both the end of Jimmy Carter's Presidency and Ronald Reagan's ascendance to power, but the secret story behind the rescue involves a C.I.A. ruse pretending the six hostages were part of a Hollywood film crew making a movie called, well, Argo.

Arkin will be playing a Hollywood producer who helped with the ruse, Lester Siegel, described in Variety as "equal parts bookie and rabbi"-- a role that pretty much screams Arkin's name. With him in place presumably a lot more actors are in the process of negotiating for roles, though there's no word that Affleck might join in himself. This is the movie that caused Affleck to drop out of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, so clearly it's something he's passionate about. Given how surprisingly excellent The Town was, there's no reason not to expect something equally exciting from this one-- and hey, at least Affleck is breaking out of the Boston crime scene that's defined his first two films. Gotta love an actor-turned-director who's willing to embrace variety.